


The AU No One Asked For: Puppet Seiboo

by Buriko



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Gen, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 16:53:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17063477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buriko/pseuds/Buriko
Summary: Instead of his spirit being laid to rest, the vengeful Seiryuu ghost from the Lushing Forest arc joins the Happy Hungry Bunch by possessing a puppet. He may not have his powers, but he does have a mouth to run.





	The AU No One Asked For: Puppet Seiboo

**Author's Note:**

> Where do I start...  
> This was originally posted on Tumblr with some goofy illustrations. In the Tumblr AkaYona community, the vengeful Seiryuu ghosts are affectionately referred to as "Seiboos", which is what I stuck with here. This is a crack fic that takes place from roughly Chapters 95-146.

A successful day at the market led to a smattering of goods in return for medicinal herbs, among them was a bolt of thick black fabric. Yoon held it up to the light; it had a pretty blue sheen but wasn’t sturdy enough for patching clothes, nor was it big enough to make anything wearable. Still, it piqued Yoon’s creativity, and after setting aside tomorrow's breakfast, folding the dry laundry, tallying expenses, and prepping the tent for bed, he worked at it with a needle and thread.

He trusted his good sense and finished the arms in the dark, but in the morning, he was disappointed to see that they had turned too long and wonky, and if he put his hand inside to maneuver them, they sagged lifelessly The project was less fun now, but since he had already gotten so far, Yoon was determined to finish it with a smooth, broad mouth.

Kija found him hard at work with the mysterious object. “Yoon, what is that?”

“It’s a puppet,” replied Yoon, “Or at least it was supposed to be.”

“A… What?”

"You really were sheltered, weren’t you? It’s a toy performers use to make a little character.“ Yoon slipped it on to demonstrate, and as the object flapped what was now clearly a mouth and appendages, Kija reeled back on his heels and yelped, "It lives!”

"No, it doesn’t,“ he rolled his eyes. "Performers who practice enough can even give them voices. They’d make the movements a lot smoother than this too.”

Kija drew closer, still fascinated. “Where are its eyes?”

"I still have to make them. They should be expressive, but I’m not sure how they should look.“

"Make them like Shin-ah’s eyes! They’re very expressive.”

Yoon took this advice, but, having never done this before he wasn’t very good at it the first time. The results were wide, buggy peepers on either side of the puppet’s noggin with slitted pupils, and Yoon found them so unnerving that he thought it prudent to add art to the short list of things he could not do. Kija remained fascinated, and since he liked it so much, Yoon gave it to him.

"Zeno! Look at this puppet Yoon made!“

"Oh, that’s a cute try. Let’s give him a go,” the yellow dragon smiled widely and slipped it on. Without moving his face, he made the puppet dance and sing, “Hello! I’m a puppet!”

Kija flushed and squealed. “That’s amazing!”

"Zeno’s fingers don’t fit the arms. Here, Hakuryuu may be better at it, you try.“

So he did. By evening, Kija had gotten the hang of animating the puppet in time with the words he gave it, and he was eager to show everyone around the campfire.

"Everyone, look! See what Yoon made!”

"Oh? What might that be?“ Jaeha sauntered over, and with one glance he jolted backwards into a tree. Kija, still wanting to give him a better look, kept the puppet on one finger and stretched his arm out to him. Jaeha looked up as the puppet loomed closer with its head drooping upside down to the right. Jaeha screamed, and then turned and clung to the tree while hiding his face. Trying to recover his dignity, he asked, "Ki–Kija-kun, doesn’t that… you know, lack a particular artistic sense?”

Yoon sighed from the ground and in his heart agreed. “Don’t make him look at it if he doesn’t want to, Kija.”

"What is it?“ Yona approached, her arms filled with twigs for the fire. Kija pulled his arm back and filled the full anatomy of the puppet with his fingers again, and he made it give Yona a slight bow. She lit up, dropped the twigs, and reached out to pinch its cheeks."How cute! A puppet!”

"You like it?“ he beamed.

"What’s its name?”

"The Dark Dragon,“ answered Hak, behind her.

"No!” snapped Kija, “It has expressive eyes like Shin-ah, not evil eyes like yours! Why don’t you name it, Princess?”

“Hhm,” she placed a finger to her lips and thought a moment. “Seiboo.”

* * *

Under Zeno’s tutelage, Kija practiced his art form every day.

“Well, if he gets better, that’ll help with the traveling performers facade,” Yoon said.

"If,“ Hak added.

Yona elbowed him. "Let him have fun."

"That is not a good idea,” Jaeha said quickly. “That is _not_ a good idea,” he repeated, more fervently.

* * *

 

The Happy Hungry Bunch met Kalgan one day in the market and escorted him back to Kai. On their first break it was clear that Kalgan wasn’t feeling well, and Kija thought he’d try to make him feel better by having the puppet tell jokes.

“Hello,” he and the puppet said. Kalgan stared, and he went on. “Do you know what’s grey and bad for your teeth? A rock.”

"Your mouth is moving, you suck.“

"Ssh!” Yona hushed him. “Don’t hurt his confidence.”

Alas, the damage had been done, Kija did not take the puppet out of his bag again for a while. Granted, falling sick almost immediately after that, fighting soldiers at the border and suffering injury, many distracting revelations about Zeno, and a hurried journey back to Kouka to recover were worthy excuses for dropping off his puppetry practice. There were rarely dull moments for the Happy Hungry Bunch, for as soon as they all started feeling back to full health, a wicked spirit possessed Shin-ah. After using Shin-ah to attack the others, the specter kidnapped Zeno for some vile purpose. Kija was particularly anxious for Shin-ah, as it must had been scary to act against his own will. Almost like he was a…

* * *

 

Once Kija and Jaeha were at last able to break through the underground cavern and find their fellow dragons, Kija approached that angry spirit inside of Shin-ah without the slightest hesitation. “Return my little brother,” he demanded it. “If you want someone to possess…”

Shin-ah and the spirit inside of him started to cover away, shook by Kija’s will and the white aura surrounding him. “ **Possess this puppet**.”

* * *

 

Seiboo, as they continued to call him, was an odd new addition to the already odd bunch. Kija held him carefully from the inside of his hollow cloth body and showed him to everyone like someone shows a scared pet hamster to crowd of curious children.

"Go away! Don’t touch me!“ it snapped and tried to wriggle fruitlessly from Kija’s grasp. It painlessly clamped down on Zeno’s fingers and shook its whole puppet body; Jaeha excused himself to go lie down, Shin-ah stroked its head, and Zeno laughed until it spat out his fingers. "Do not ridicule me! This body is merely a means to an end to get out of my tomb!”

"Shush, you already used Shin-ah for that and then went back,“ Yoon glowered at it.

"I think it’s cute,” Yona giggled, and the puppet relaxed.

That gave Zeno a chance to slip it off Kija’s hand. “Give Zeno a try.” He put it on, but the puppet immediately popped off with a cackle.

“Hahahaha!” it howled as it bounced across the ground. “You cannot fool me, Ouryuu, you are weak!”

"Ah! Seiboo’s getting away!“

" _Pukkyuu_!”

Shin-ah caught up to it and slipped it over his hand.

"Phew. Good job, Seiryuu!“

Although Shin-ah did not lose his grip, he was yanked around by his arm with such force that his body was like a cracking whip. Hak rose to his aid and wrestled it down, and with its mouth clamped shut, the puppet made aggravated muffles.

Yona frowned. "Looks like Kija’s the only one strong enough to handle him.”

"I’ll try,” Hak said. He slipped it off of Shin-ah’s arm and onto his own. The puppet struggled with all its felty might, but Hak maintained a firm grip and manipulated its mouth as he said flatly, “Hi, I’m the Dark Dragon.”

“Blasphemy!” Seiboo spat out, using an extra burst of anger to shake free of Hak’s fingers up its head. “There’s no such thing as a Dark Dragon!”

Kija beamed with pride.

* * *

 

Life went on about as strangely as it did before. "The first order of business today is for Zeno to go get new clothes,“ announced Yoon as they headed into a Water Tribe market. "And if you ruin another outfit, you get to wear straw like a barbarian.”

"Aw, lad, it’s just the sleeve this time. Zeno can wear Seiboo!“

"I am not a fashion accessory! I am a vengeful dragon!"

"You do cover up the dragon hand well, though,” Hak observed. “You should have done the puppet thing all along, White Snake.”

"White Snake?“ Seiboo perked up, then hissed out a quiet laugh with its mouth wide open.

Kija didn’t notice. "Oh! That would have been a good idea to keep our cover, wouldn’t it?"

"What cover?” Yoon grumbled. With a red-haired princess turned pirate and bandit, a former general, a man with an oddly shaped hand, Shin-ah, a flying man in Kai clothes, a giddy immortal, a beautiful boy genius, a squirrel too animated for her own good, and now a rabid puppet, it was a wonder Kouka hadn’t set the armies on them yet.

Everyone ran the errands they were supposed to, and Zeno returned with a nicer outfit that Yoon expected.

“Zeno! How did you afford that?"

"A couple of lovely big sisters paid for it.”

As soon as the two lady bodyguards appeared, Seiboo burst out, “Since when do you know some sexy chicks like them?"

"Seiboo!” Kija clamped his mouth shut from the inside and scolded him with his left index finger. “That was inappropriate!"

Seiboo gained control of what could be said were his lips. "I know knock-outs when I see them!”

" _Stop_!“

Tetora burst out laughing; Ayura clapped. "Ooh, very impressive ventriloquism.”

"Ahaha! I never–ahahah–never thought he was capable of say–saying—ahahaha–ow, _OW_ –“

"Tetora, sit down!"

"Owwww.”

* * *

 

They hurried Tetora back to her inn to rest, and there Lili told them about the drug smuggling and human trafficking matter she was investigating. Neither was a new sort of matter to the Happy Hungry Bunch, and they agreed to help.

At the festival that evening the four dragons, one squirrel, and one former-dragon possessed puppet put on an impressive impression of traveling performers with their stacked musical juggling tower. Jaeha, sitting on Kija’s shoulder, lifted the flute to his mouth, but stole a glance down to his right thigh first, where the puppet grimly stared up at him.

"What?“ the puppet asked. "You gonna play or not?"

"I’m playing,” he said and began.

"I could play that better than you if I had lungs. I could play that better than you if I had _your_ lungs. _Give me your lungs_.“

Jaeha played louder to drown him out.

* * *

 

Yona was kidnapped. Seiboo was not pleased. Seiboo yelled at everyone that it was their fault. No one argued back, so Seiboo stopped yelling. It sucked when no one argued back.

It noticed Shin-ah was especially quiet and thought to offer comfort, but it could think of nothing to say. It rested its soft felt body in Shin-ah's lap and piped down for the night.

* * *

When they split up, Seiboo went with Kija, Shin-ah, Hak, and Yoon. It was hard work out there, even for a puppet. When the guards offered them wine, Seiboo snagged it, downed it, and soaked himself through. It had no affect on him, but the idea that he could get drunk was cathartic.

One of tired captives who saw this laughed, and Seiboo felt something odd bubble up inside its ghostly spirit. Seiboo announced, "I can drink more than that!” and it stole all the other glasses in Kija’s wide reach and downed them all before anyone else had a chance to. Kija scolded Seiboo that the people where thirsty, but the people were laughing, so Seiboo threw back its head and let out a hearty laugh too. Like hell Hakuryuu could tell it what to do. 

* * *

Seiboo tried to be cooperative because it was anxious about finding Yona, but when the time came to stop being cooperative and destroy the fort, it relished the change. Tossing ammo into catapults made the little puppet feel powerful, and it was starting to look like a good day to find Yona.

Instead they found Soowon.   
Bummer.

The soldiers the young king brought along even laughed and made fun of the dragons, what jerks. If only it had use of a body with Seiryuu eyes, it’d paralyze them all. Soowon did not particularly notice the puppet on Kija’s engorged finger, nor did he seem to notice the general attitude of the Sky Tribe soldiers, nor how far Tetora’s jaw had fallen and the difficulty she was having putting it back in place. The young king’s eyes lit up at the sight of the shimmering white scales, and unperturbed by the two dragons’ defensive stance, he approached.

“Can I touch your hand?” he asked.

 **CHOMP** , Seiboo replied.   
  
The king was a _little_ perturbed.   
  
"Stop that!“ Kija drew him away. "Show some–"

"Respect? For the guy who doesn’t have red hair parading around as the king?"

"I was going to say ‘restraint.’”

"I see how you feel, then,“ said Soowon, turning away. "I didn’t want any dragons anyway.”

"Good.“

"Seiboo,” said Shin-ah, “Why did you do that?"

"You’re right, that was dumb of me. I have no teeth. I should try possessing the squirrel.”

Shin-ah held her tight and Kija held Seiboo back. Tetora, who thrust her jaw back to its proper place with a snap, felt a little pale and questioned the sanity of Yona’s companions.

The previously jeering soldiers looked on quietly. “They’re weirder than I thought,” one said.

"I’m a little scared,“ replied the other.

Seiboo popped in the soldiers’ line of sight over Kija’s shoulder, and looked straight at them (with its nose, as opposed to with its eyes that focused in different directions). ” _Good_ ,“ it said.

* * *

They got Yona back, and everything felt right in Seiboo’s world again, apart from its degrading possession of a puppet.

"Stop,” it pleaded flatly, knowing it was fruitless. Its back was covered with shot and tears, as Kija had used it as a handkerchief.

"Ah!! Seiboo, I’m so sorry! I’ll go scrub you off–“

” _No_ —“ Yoon and Jaeha both sprang to stop him. Both were startled to see that Jaeha, of all people, had tried to intervene, and they stopped and starred at each other with their arms outstretched toward Kija and Seiboo.

Seeing Yoon and Jaeha stuck in mid-rescue on its behalf, Seiboo felt an odd tickle of something… Something it never understood, or at least had not understood in a long time.

Fondness?   
Gratitude?   
  
It looked to Shin-ah. It looked to Yona. It looked to Zeno, and Ao, and Kija, and Hak. Maybe it was just its fabric, but it felt... _fuzzy_.

"No, it’s fine,” Kija turned for the river. “I’ll wash him.”

"AAAAAAHHH!“ Seiboo threw its head back and wailed. "Save meeeee!”

No, that odd feeling had to have been indigestion.

* * *

For reasons, the Happy Hungry Bunch had a bunch of alcohol.

And, for reasons, Yoon wanted to know which was more unbreakable when used against the other: Ryokuryuu’s leg or Hakuryuu’s hand.

“Jaeha, why are you looking away?”

“Um, er, no, Kija-kun, I–”

“Put me on his foot! Put me on his foot! I want to find out too.”

Yoon narrowed his eyes at the puppet. “You’d get smashed in the process.”

“Would I? See, there in lies the secret. In this form, I am even more powerful than Ouryuu.”

This made everyone a little curious, and Yoon asked what everyone else was thinking. “How?”

“I am impervious to pain!”

Zeno sat back, smiled, and sipped his liquor. He wasn’t touching that.

Jaeha appreciated the diversion. “Now, speaking of contests, weren’t we about to drink–”

“Now, now, now, wait a moment,” Seiboo and Kija’s hand drifted back to Jaeha’s shoulder. “Looks like someone here is worried about a little pain after all.”

“It’s… not exactly my hobby or anything. I don’t want to break.”

Kija perked up. “Then you admit defeat?”

“Now, I didn’t say–”

Seiboo cackled. “Your powers are worth nothing! All that senseless prancing and smashing, but you’ve never tasted the terror in someone’s mind as you pinch their heart to a–”

“That’s it, I’m out,” Jaeha said, then joined Zeno for some casual drinking.

“He admits defeat,” Kija made Seiboo face him. He was smiling with flushed cheeks and his left hand was curled up in a victory fist by his face.

Seiboo stared a moment–-a long, cold moment. “Give me to Shin-ah.”

Kija did as he was asked and handed him to the blue dragon, and Shin-ah, with Seiboo on his right hand, sat down next to Yona. She poured a cup for Shin-ah, which Seiboo snagged and poured down itself.

Kija turned back to scold him. “Hey! You be good to Shin-ah, understand?”

Seiboo wiggled its lips(?) and made a soft sound of fabric rubbing against fabric. This was meant to be the sound and expression of it sticking its tongue out at Kija, but no one could tell, and they all went on with their night. Kija joined Jaeha, Hak, and Zeno, and Yona poured Shin-ah another glass, which Seiboo allowed him to have. Seiboo then turned to Yona. “Your turn.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” she smiled, and three of the biggest mouthfuls she could muster later, she swallowed one cup of the potent liquor, after which she then took a loud breath. Seiboo rubbed the back of its head against her arm. “Teh heh, that tickles,” she said.

“I like you.”

“You’ve gotten so honest, Seiboo, it’s sweet.”

“ _Pukkyuu_!”

“You’re sweet too, Ao.”

“Hmm. I guess I like the squirrel too. Squirrel, your turn.”

Yona poured another cup, and Ao lapped it down in seconds flat. Not to be outdone, Seiboo splashed its not cup down itself like it was in a race with gravity, and then it snapped for Yona to hurry and give Shin-ah his next cup. Yona took hers after that, and with Seiboo’s cheering, she chugged it faster. The poor kids, they got wasted fast.

Except for Seiboo. “Hey, Shin-ah.”

“…Y…Yes…?”

“Seiryuu eyes sure are cool, aren’t they?”

“…Uh huh.”

“Maybe you should—”

“They’re preeeeeetttyyyy,” smiled Yona.

Seiboo swung back to face her and stammered. “You–you really think so?”

“Uh huhhhhh!” she threw her arms around the puppet and Shin-ah’s forearm. “ _Nee_ , Seiboo?”

“Um… yes?”

“Seiiibooooo? You– _hic_ –you listening?”

“I’m listening.”

“I’m sorr… rry you had to wait ‘n the dark so long.”

She rested her face on Seiboo’s head and dozed off a moment. Seiboo felt so fuzzy that it started to wonder if it had indeed been affected by the alcohol. Everything was so warm, and Seiboo felt it might lose itself in her embrace.

Then Jaeha came and popped Shin-ah’s mask off to see how drunk he might be, and Shin-ah started to use his powers on Jaeha. Seiboo cackled and returned to its usual sober feeling.

* * *

Yoon preferred to be called a pretty boy genius.   
No one, apart from the one time Ik-soo did it in jest, ever called him that.   
No, his new name was “mother” and he hated it.

“I don’t remember giving birth to any of you!” he quipped back one time.

Kija looked at him with wide eyes. “But Yoon,” he said, “You _did_ give birth to Seiboo.”

Yoon and Seiboo were equally disturbed by this. Seiboo could not muster the right words to tell Kija how wrong that sounded, so it took control of its finger-filled sack-arm and punched Kija in the jaw. Having only been a finger but still being the finger of a Hakuryuu, it packed about the same punch as Shin-ah’s fist.

“Ow,” said Kija, recovering.

“You had that coming,” Yoon said, and when he turned his eyes to Seiboo, Seiboo shrieked. Kija’s claw had made a hole in its arm, and it was rapidly opening up.

Seiboo shook with its full attention on its appendage splitting apart. “Ma…” it eeked out in panic, “MOOOOM!!!!!”

Yoon’s face flashed grim with a sour frown, and he knocked his fist square between Seiboo’s eyes. Then he sighed and slipped him off Kija’s hand to go repair him.   
Seiboo was careful to keep its mouth shut.

* * *

The monsters of Kouka were found: the flying man with grass for hair, and the beautiful clawed ventriloquist.

Vold took the Happy Hungry Bunch to meet Princess Tao, and on the way they found a real performer (not someone pretending to be a performer) in the street telling the tale of the Kouka monsters that took down the forts of Sei. The man was no ventriloquist, though. His mouth was wide open as he held up a real life cat puppet and starting yelling “nyao, nyao, nyao”. While Kija did his best to keep his indignation hushed and the others bellowed in laughter at his expense, Seiboo scoffed. “What’s with the cat? He should be using a _snake_.”

Hak howled louder and slapped his thighs, with no control over himself any more. The Thunder Beast’s powerful lungs were as much a force to be reckoned with as the rest of him, so his voice summoned the attention of the entire crowd, including the Kouren-supporter who meant to criticize the street performer, but was now too distracted to.

"Seiboo! Now you’re calling me by that derogatory name as well!?“

"Wait– _\--_ you mean you haven’t noticed all this time? I’m right here on your arm almost all the time and you haven’t noticed at all? I knew you were pretty slow, but I didn’t know the inside of your head was all white too!"

The crowd ooh'ed.

"I am not the one with an empty head!"

"Then what’s inside my head is worthless? That’s only your hand, you know.”

The crowd aah'ed.

“You know what?” Seiboo went on. “I just let you think you have control of me. But I swear, as soon as your stinky old ancestors dose off a second I’ll–"

"Do not insult my ancestors!"

"You’re nothing but a puppet to their will!"

"I amno–oh,” Kija stopped and blinked. “Come to think if it, Jaeha called me that once too.”

"Please leave me out of this.“

"Droopy Eyes was right–-you’re the puppetiest puppet to ever puppet a puppet!"

The crowd drew closer and squealed with delight, and Vold starting sweating as much as Shin-ah was in his fur down in that humid southern country. He ordered his men to control the crowd and, as politely as he could muster over his panic, he urged the Happy Hungry Bunch to hurry and follow him away to the quiet summer palace. The Monsters of Kouka were just too powerful.

* * *

On their way they met Algira. Algira met Ao. He had some vague awareness of the rest of the Happy Hungry Bunch.

Tao was very startled to see the whole lot of them. But, like many young women who had the pleasure of meeting this bunch, she very soon took a liking to them and gave them food.

A few of the servant ladies gathered around and whispered to themselves, “It’s true, the white one really does have a puppet.”

“Amazing.”

“So talented.”

“But it sure ruins the image.”

“Agreed.”

“Koukans are weird.”

“Look, they even eat food off the floor.”

“They’re feral.”

“Sort of like some of our cats.”

“Yes, they’re all like our cats. Feral, dangerous, but so terribly cute that you can forgive them for anything.”

“Agreed. I like them.”

“Me too.”

Algira only overheard the part of this conversation that caught his interest. He decided he liked the Happy Hungry Bunch too. The guy with the puppet was alright but the guy with the Pukkyuu-nyan, well, he had a Pukkyuu-nyan.

Seiboo didn’t really care about Algira either, but Seiboo found it had a particular liking of cats. They spelled freedom when they carried him off. But cats don’t follow directions, no matter how hard one vengeful spirit tries to possess them. Seiboo didn’t particularly care when Kija plucked it off a high shelf. It’s not as if it was scary up there. Nope. Really, nothing could scare Seiboo after dying in the dark, surrounded by bandit bodies. If it had a human body, it would have shook at the memory. 

* * *

 

Oops. The palace caught fire.

Not so ‘oops’, as it turned out.

Seiboo was initially panicked for its own well-being. Being made of fabric made it impervious to pain, but fire was a considerable threat to its permanence. Kija was quick to save it, and that was a relief, but relief very soon melted into dread. Kija, Shin-ah, Ao, Jaeha, they were all assembled. Then came Hak and Yona. And there was Tao and Algira, but who cared about them? Where was–

–that stupid Ouryuu, he was still inside.

Seiboo could not stand the second reminder of its past. Ouryuu was going to be stuck there in the flames until something would at last give way for him to slip out from under the weight of the pillar, like how Seiboo’s physical form at last gave way to his injuries. But his spirit wasn’t free after that. Hiryuu wasn’t waiting to comfort him after his physical release. The only comfort was that the previous Seiryuu spirits had as much as anger as he did, and that anger swarmed to give him power, an obsession to focus on and distract him from the fear.

 _He was powerless, his power was gone_ –--

 

It was wasn’t sure how or when it happened, but the puppet found itself in Shin-ah’s gentle arms, close to the living dragon’s heartbeat. With a hazy look around, it saw that Zeno was safe with Yona, and the last of the burning palace crumbled.

* * *

Some numbskull bag of hair with a couple of rattles had the gall to attack Seiboo’s dragons. As Kija’s hand had gone limp, Seiboo zoomed off of it and onto the attacker’s leg, biting for all its puppety worth. This attacker had legs of steel, though, and didn’t notice until the fight had settled down and he ordered the Xing soldiers to take away the prisoners. He looked down to his ankle, reeled in disgust, and stomped on it to get it off. Seiboo hit the dust, and it would have shot back after the man, had Yoon not caught it and held the angry puppet with all his might to keep it under control.

Seiboo, very distracted by its indignance over what the bag of hair had done, didn’t mind being in a jail cell with the others. Some boy who came to give them food and blankets seemed nice and all, it pointed out, but that bag of hair, _ugh_ , disgusting.

“You do realize that he stabbed Zeno, right?”   
“And set fire to the palace?”   
“And tried to kill Princess Tao?”

“Everybody’s got their faults,” it replied. “And let’s be honest, hundreds of people have stabbed Ouryuu. But has anyone ever stopped his heart? Nope. Only me.”

Jaeha clamped his hand over Seiboo’s mouth. “Let’s stop there.”

Seiboo did stop, not because Jaeha was capable was of keeping its mouth shut, but because the lack of strength in Jaeha's fingers was too pitiful, and it’d be an unfair fight.

The boy with the food and blankets came back one time and started spouting some weird stuff about dragon blood and drinking it, and at last Seiboo’s opinion of him soured. “Back off,” it hissed at him. “Their bodies are _mine_.”

* * *

It was only at mother’s behest that Seiboo remained obedient in the jail cell, but it was terribly antsy. Several days passed, but it felt like each moment was the installment of a story that was only released once or twice a month, and therefore it felt like it took well over a year for their situation to change. And once it did change, Seiboo reveled in it-–more destruction!

It rode the claws of Hakuryuu while crashing through those infuriating jail bars!   
It witnessed the full power of Seiryuu unleashed on a myriad of enemies!   
It… well, Ouryuu didn’t do anything and Ryokuryuu was a big jumping beanstalk as usual, nothing special after getting to watch the Seiryuu powers again.

Poor Shin-ah was quickly paralyzed by that, but not exhausted, for Yona had returned and the mere sight of her gave them all an extra burst of strength. Not that this extra strength lasted long. Some ropes flew over their heads, the dragons all fell down, and Seiboo’s side was frayed as Kija was dragged through the sand. One of its eyed popped off too. Thankfully it didn’t need that eye to witness what happened next.

It was Seiryuu, in was what almost looked like dragon flesh. Seiryuu, Hakuryuu, Ryokuryuu, Ouryuu; all of them, surrounding Yona with such power that Seiboo was humbled to have ever thought it had any power at all, whether dead or alive. What a moment to be ali… well, not alive, but to still be allowed to exist in the world. That moment, Yona surrounded in all her glory by those powerful dragons, made Seiboo’s unnaturally long existence feel worth it.

But, dragons darn it, that Xing priest with the stupid face had to step in and ruin such a beautiful moment. Seiboo flung itself off Kija’s hand and started gumming Gobi’s face to try to maul him. The people of the peace faction, already unnerved by everything that had happened so far, were distracted to the point of inaction watching the puppet narrowly suffocate their leader. In this time, Hak stormed in like the Dark Dragon he called himself to snatch his friends back from the peace faction’s nasty clutches, and Seiboo had very nearly killed Gobi when—

– ** _riii—i—ii——iii—iiiiiip_** –

–someone had the sense to take out their sword and rescue their leader. Seiboo fell in pieces, and in peace.


End file.
